Improvements to the Series

I have been an avid fan of the DW series since fourth, but it wasn't until the fifth installment that i fell in love. The sixth whilst introducing some improvements felt inferior to the fifth. After having another go at DW6 a couple of ideas have bugged my brain and this is my outlet for my suggestions to reinvigorate the series.

*When reading this keep in mind that i have not played the seventh so these suggestions may have been addressed and therefore irrelevant.

DW6 suffered frame rate dropping. It was not gamebreaking but it did belittle the experience. i found it particularly frustrating during fights of great importance where i was surrounded by countless men yet moved as if i had lead weights attached to my feet. DW6 was the only game that really had this problem but the next game should run smoothly.

The draw distance can feel painfully short. i spot three or so men; an easy kill, but as i approach closer 15 or so other men materialize. The short draw distance also negatively impacts on the game's beauty. i dream of the day where i can stand from a raised position and gaze upon everyone and everything possible form that perspective.

DW6 snatched away many of the unique weapons the characters of the fifth wielded in battle. Where are Ling Tong's nunchucks or Sun Ce's tonfas? Cao Pi's interconnecting swords? Instead many of the characters have been stripped of their individuality and have been forced a standard sword or spear to use. This means that the characters feel very similar. I want as many unique weapons as possible and for the characters that do wield a common weapon, they should still maintain their singularity in the way that they use it.

All of the characters incorporated into a storyline of some description. i was shocked to find that my warriors of choice Ma Chao and Guan Ping were only playable in free and challenge mode. The musou modes of the characters were not particularly in-depth or moving in DW 5 but the cutscenes did give me reason and the passion to slay any men in my path.

The maps are screaming for upgrades. They feel pretty standard for the most part. i want the castles to feel like daunting monstrosities filled with various traps and pathways to the goal. The generic base-to-base gameplay can become boring- jazz it up!

Game mechanics could definitly see an improvement. it would be cool to organise a fire attack or a bombardment of arrows on an unsuspecting foe on a variety of maps - no more just scripted events. i would love to feel as if there were a number of different ways to reach the same outcome.

Multiplayer of some form is pretty standard at this time, and sharing Wu Zhang Plains with a friend online would be beyond awesome.

And finally, i would really appreciate more advanced AI. They should respond to your actions - try to trap you at a point, gang up on you, etc. at the moment they dawdle across the battle field "derpa derpa derpity do" and they never really contribute.

Every map is horrid. I like that they keep adding new designs to the maps and what they look like, but it feels so empty going into castles and bases. Only thing you can break in DW7 is the dam pots. ((Not talking about arbalests,catapults,etc)) A destructible enviroment would be cool, hell just adding more feel to it.

AI. Is there any? I slay hundreds and hundreds of foot soldiers in DW7 on normal, never get hit by them ONCE.... Only challenge is the generals and even they have a hard time earning a kill.

Also when you go to the hardest difficulty. You die in 3. maybe. 4 hits. The foot soldiers attack just a little bit more but two hits and your half life. There is no substance in how they move or attack. no group attacks or plans or anything.

What happen to the text bar/health bar of the enemies? I remember seeing what kind of foot soldier, major, ETC I was killling. It was cool, just another small bit that they gave up in DW7, only time I see it is when I'm fighting generals.

CREATING CHARACTERS::: Where did that go? I was really upset when I first started playing DW7 because I expected them to have that feature. Luckily for them they put together a very strong Story Mode and Conquest Mode. But being able to create your own character..would've been AMAZING!